One Pastor's Perspective

UNC beat DOOK at Cameron, AND we ran 101 on them!!!! Yeah, my computer is dead and I had a horrible day, but somehow none of that matters anymore!!!

Yes, my Dell Vostro is sick!!! The dreaded Blue Screen of Death. As soon as I get it all worked out, I’ll be back!!!!

Several people have asked me that question lately. The reputation of FB is that of a networking tool for college-aged people, high schoolers, and under. I seem to remember when I first heard about it, you had to have an affiliation with a school to even join (or is that an urban legend??).

Facebook is changing the “face” of social interaction today. It gives an individual a place to express themselves, reveal something about themselves that might not come out in another venue, and most of all network. Connect.

The value I find in FB is that it allows me to stay connected to members of my church (and my friends). I have reconnected with friends from high school that I’ve not had much contact with in 25 years (YES, this is the 25th anniversary of my high school graduation). With FB, I find out about sickness, problems, everything my friends face. And I would like to think I am able to help them . . . Sometimes by messenging on FB, and sometimes by knowing when it is time to give them a call.

Will FB replace blogging?? One of my techno friends asked that question the other day . . . I don’t think so. But I am finding it to be more and more of a useful tool in pastoring a church in 2009.

By my calendar, it is February 6, 2009. We are well into the new presidency. We do have problems . . . Some are because of decisions of the past . . . Some because of what we are doing right now. We need to MOVE ON.

Whether you like him or not, George W. Bush was elected president of the US TWICE. He served both terms. Did he make some bad decisions? Yes. By the way, did YOU make any bad decisions in the last eight years? Did he make some good decisions? Yes. And life goes on.

In the wake of our historic inauguration, we find Bush being blamed for EVERYTHING WRONG in the world today. I even told my kids that the FSD1 goof-up this week on their weather policies was somehow Bush’s fault, since everything else in the world is his fault (that was SARCASM). Time to move on.

President Obama is now our leader. We Christians need to pray for him EVERY DAY. Our economy is still in the tank. We are still fighting two wars. People are losing jobs everyday. We focus onward and upward and MOVE ON.

Worry will get us nowhere. Blame . . . Blame Bush if you want. Heck, blame Richard Nixon if it makes you feel better. But it is time to MOVE ON, AMERICA!!

And, for the record, I don’t think it is George Bush’s fault about the snowday/late day fiasco this week. I blame the Tooth Fairy.

Do you worry?? Do you sit around and stress about things over which you have no control whatsoever? Has worrying EVER made a difference??

Some believe in a pseudo-karma, that if we DO NOT worry about something, it will go wrong. I’ve been caught in that trap before. In fact, that might be the only semi-logical reason we can develop for worry.

Here is the thing: Jesus told us NOT TO WORRY (Matthew 6). He told us the Father is in control and has our best interest and provision in heart. He asked us to realize that worry will not add to anything, and in fact, only TAKES AWAY from the living we were called to do.

Don’t worry . . . God WILL provide. Worry will only cause problems!!

Diana and I left for the Y at 5:30am this morning. She looked on the steps and said “It snowed!” We both looked up and realized, No, it is SNOWING!”

We went, worked out, and about 45 minutes later come back out to a blizzard. ALL of the cars in the parking lot (including ours) were COVERED with snow. Driving home, we realized it was sticking to the road (much more than it did a couple of weeks ago when school was canceled).

And, now, my children angrily get ready to go to school. And I am puzzled, too. I know the buses have already gone out, and that will be the given reason. But the roads and bridges actually ARE a little slick right now (and, YES, I have been out in it). Much more than a couple of weeks ago.

In other words, this is MUCH MORE of a snow day than a couple of weeks ago because of THE ROADS. DO THE RIGHT THING, FOLKS!!!

Why is it that every time SC makes it into the national news, it is something like this?? Michael Phelps, the all-American boy, the record-setting olympian, a hero to many, many kids in the US, caught on film smoking a bong! And WHERE?? In Columbia, SC!! At a USC House Party, nonetheless.

It seems we are always in the news for a murder, or somebody beating their kid at the White House, or something equally exciting and embarassing. It makes me want to scream to the entire world, “South Carolina IS A GREAT PLACE!! DO NOT JUDGE US FOR THE ONLY STORIES ABOUT US IN THE NEWS!!”

I have been all over the United States, both in my previous career in computers and in my current ministry. Let me assure you there is NO PLACE LIKE HOME, and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else! SC is a great place to live, a great place to visit, and I am proud to call it home!

Maybe we (SC) need some better press agents . . .